Jerry Dipoto, player

Jerry Dipoto, unlike most general managers, played in the majors. He was probably never as famous as a player as he is/will be as a general manager, but there were plenty of interesting parts of his career. These are a few of them, and maybe a few not-interesting parts of his career.

Dipoto was drafted out of college by the Indians in the third round of the 1989 draft. He was the 71st overall pick. The 69th overall pick was Tim Salmon. Of the 26 players drafted in that round, 15 didn't make the majors; Salmon, John Olerud, Shane Reynolds, Denny Neagle and Phil Nevin were also taken that round, though Nevin didn't sign.

USA Today, 1990: "Up-and-comers: 3B Jim Thome, CF Sam Hence (taught to be a switch-hitter), RHP Jerry DiPoto and LHP Alan Embree." Jim Thome played 493 games in the majors at third base. Remember that? Nobody remembers that. Other notes from that USA Today piece: "Centerfielder Tim Salmon, strong at 6-3, 200 and very fast, was a camp sensation. ... OF Garrett Anderson won raves for his classic swing. ... IF-OF Chad Curtis drew some comparisons to Howard Johnson for his build and swing." And "SS Chipper Jones worked on switch-hitting."

Dipoto was a starter until he reached Double-A, when his strikeout rate took a big drop and the Indians converted him to relief. He never started a game in the majors.

"I was fast asleep. He asked me, 'Can you pitch?' I said, 'Not at 3:15 in the morning.' He told me, 'You're going to Cleveland.' I said, 'Good, then I can pitch.' " - Indians pitcher Jerry DiPoto after a call from his Class AAA Charlotte manager informing him he had been promoted to the big leagues.

Dipoto made his debut in May 1993. He entered in the seventh inning of a tie game in his debut and allowed the go-ahead double. But it was otherwise a successful rookie year, and by August he was the Indians' closer.

"We knew Jerry was tough enough," Hart says. "His problem at first was that he would get too worked up. But (Charlotte Manager) Charlie Manuel and (Charlotte pitching coach) Dyar Miller did a great job with him, easing Jerry into the role last season. This year, he was a dead closer." DiPoto prefers closing out a game to being a starter. "I love it, no question," DiPoto says.

Since 1989, just 13 pitchers have faced at least 60 left-handed batters in a season without giving up an extra-base hit. Most of those guys are lefties. Dipoto was not a lefty and he is on that list, having faced 105 lefties in 1993 without giving up so much as a double.

Then he was traded to the Mets (with Paul Byrd, for Jeremy Burnitz) and then to the Rockies (for Armando Reynoso) and then he had to pitch in Colorado. Colorado in the mid- to late-1990s is one of those Baseball-Reference spirals that can eat up an afternoon. Like, in 2000, the Rockies hit .252/.320/.368 on the road, and .334/.401/.538 at home. So Dipoto pitched four seasons with the Rockies and had a 4.22 ERA as a reliever, which doesn't sound very good, which sounds pretty bad actually, except that when you adjust for ballpark it's a 129 ERA+. In 2011, Jordan Walden (2.98 ERA) had a 128 ERA+. Dipoto was actually good.

Jerry Dipoto went 1 for 22 in his career. He drew two walks, off Mike Busby and Felix Heredia. If you Google Mike Busby, the first result is some guy's Linkedin profile. Mike Busby the baseball player made only seven more appearances after that walk. Jerry Dipoto's plate discipline basically ended Mike Busby's career, probably.

He made six appearances against the Angels and somehow ended up getting the decision in four of them.

Dipoto saved 49 games in his career, tied with Mordecai Brown for 239th in history. Mordecai Brown is in the Hall of Fame!

As you know, his last name is Dipoto, not DiPoto. But when he was a player, nearly every article that ever mentioned him used the capital-P DiPoto. His baseball-reference page lists him as DiPoto. His baseball cards used DiPoto:

His autograph, though, seems pretty conclusively to use a lowercase p:

This is frighteningly high on my list of questions to ask Jerry Dipoto. Also high: Whether he has had to take Levothyroxin since he had his thyroid removed.

This is Jerry Dipoto announcing his retirement, because of a bulging disk in his neck, at age 32:

A couple months later:

Had a neck injury not forced Jerry Dipoto to retire, he would have been a 33-year-old relief pitcher Thursday. Instead, Dipoto celebrated his 33rd birthday as a Rockies' front-office executive and part-time television reporter, fields in which 33 is considered very young.

This is Jerry Dipoto 10 years later, at the press conference announcing he'd been hired by the Angels:

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